It is known to employ dispensers holding two or more rolls of toilet tissue or similar sheet material which maintain at least one of the rolls as a reserve roll while the toilet tissue is being dispensed from the other roll. Such devices are usually, but not exclusively, employed in institutional environments such as public rest rooms.
The following United States patents disclose various dispensers of this type: U.S. Pat. No. 3,010,670, issued Nov. 28, 1961, U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,816, issued Nov. 30, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 3,656,699, issued Apr. 18, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,504, issued Oct. 12, 1965, U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,329, issued Dec. 27, 1966, U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,681, issued Mar. 12, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,874, issued Mar. 8, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,276, issued Jan. 25, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 3,381,909, issued May 7, 1968, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,487,763, issued Nov. 8, 1949.
The present invention is characterized by its relative simplicity, reliability, and low manufacturing cost as compared to other dispensers which, for example, can employ relatively complicated structures, including springs, to control access to two or more rolls from which sheet material is to be dispensed. Furthermore, many prior dispensers cannot be utilized to dispense from rolls without cores, i.e. coreless rolls. The apparatus disclosed and claimed herein, on the other hand, is suitable for such purpose. The subject invention also incorporates structure which facilitates roll replenishment, as compared to some dispensing systems which may require considerable time, effort, and experience to accomplish such end.